SPORTS FEEVER by Chris Fee of KROX Radio – chrisjfee@yahoo.comT
The Fee eye problems somehow got worse. Frank had emergency Retina surgery on Wednesday, as his retina was detached in three small spots. The surgery went well and he is recovering. So that is good. The good news is he went in right away when he had some trouble, and that should allow him to be back to possibly do some more girls hockey games this year. So yeah, the Fee family eyes are terrible if you haven’t figured it out already.
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It was pretty cool last week when we had four people, four days in a row compliment us on our sports coverage. All four were from out of town.
We had a TRF Prowler hockey fan thank us for the best streaming product out there and said he loved when TRF played in Crookston.
We had a Highway Patrol from out of town (no I didn’t get pulled over) tell us he appreciates all the work we do at KROX and thanked me.
We had a janitor in Mahnomen tell me he loves the awesome wrestling coverage we provide.
We had fan thank us for our tremendous coverage of Section 8AA basketball.
We also have had a ton of people in town that used to live in town continue to thank us for the work we do. While I don’t see it as going above and beyond. I see it as giving the community the most information on what is happening here and around the area. We take pride in informing the public.
We appreciate the thank yous, and I would be lying if it ever got old. But we are just doing our job and trying to do the best with an amazing small staff that I would put up against any large staff.
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It is time again for the World Famous Chris Fee Top 3. I pick the teams that I think are CURRENTLY the top three teams. I will also add a few others that I think are worthy of honorable mention, if necessary.
If you don’t like it. Remember….my opinions do not change the scores, the outcomes, or anything in the games. And if you don’t know that already….just quit reading my column. Or send complaints to my email address Idontcarewhatyouthink@biteme.com. All joking aside. These are just my thoughts on the area sections as of Wednesday, January 11, and I guarantee they will change by the time I do it again in a couple of weeks!
SECTION 8AA Boys Basketball –
1. Perham (10-0) and they play the toughest schedule in the section and it shows in the QRF alone with a 20-point lead over TRF. They are the best team right now. Play the best defense. Play tough competition and are always well-coached.
2. Thief River Falls (10-0) they are a formidable number two after the discarding of DGF in TRF. But they made some waves in the section coaching community when they beat Roseau 114-38. Fertile-Beltrami also had them on the ropes this week. Coach Steffes and the Falcons have given the rest of the section a solid game plan defensively to slow down the Prowlers.
3. It is a tie for third. DGF and Barnesville. Both teams are coming off state championship football games, and they will be much better as the season goes along.
Honorable mention – Pelican Rapids.
SECTION 8A Boys Basketball – We are combining both sub-sections, just like they should do for the playoffs. If I was on the Region 8A committee, it would be the first thing I would fight for is a 20-seed tournament. Have a 16-team bracket tournament with four play-in games, with each winner playing the #1, #2, #3, or #4 seed in the first round. Play the first round at REA and Northland. Or REA and BSU/Crookston. Wherever.
Travel can’t be an excuse because the dumbest thing in the MSHSL is District Scheduling for football.
1. Cass Lake-Bena. They are number one at 8-0. They can run and gun, are well-coached, and haven’t lost while playing tough competition.
2. Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart is coming off a 10-point victory over previously undefeated Warren-A-O and is now 10-2. They are the defending champ and seem to be getting better each week. They are well-coached and know how to win.
3. Ada-Borup-West. The Cougars are on the prowl and playing some solid basketball. They have had some interesting scores and have been nowhere near consistent, but they have the talent and athleticism.
Honorable Mention. Fosston (especially with both Norland boys playing again), Fertile-Beltrami (they and Sacred Heart are my early picks for a section championship), Warren-A-O (They have the athleticism, talent, and everything you need to win a championship. They are still in the thick of things and could easy be in the top three still!)
SECTION 8AA Girls Basketball –
The Section tournament could be a wild one this year, with almost everybody being able to beat everybody this year.
1. Perham (10-1). They have the best post in the section, they have great guard play, and play solid defense, although if the officials call hand checks. But I think it is pretty much unanimous that they are the top team, and they are well-coached by Coach Super. They have also played a very competitive schedule.
This is where it gets extremely tough.
2. Pelican Rapids is the second team in my top three. They have played some great basketball and just beat Barnesville on Tuesday by double-figures so they (at 10-2). It was the second night in a row Barnesville played, so give the score difference a little break.
3. Tie – Fergus Falls and Crookston. Fergus Falls has only played one section game, and they beat Thief River Falls in double figures earlier this year. Crookston is playing some solid basketball when they need too. They didn’t play very well in the first two games of the year and are a much better team now and better equipped to play against tough defensive pressure as they have seen in almost every game. They have had a quality schedule and have a comparable win over Hancock (like Fergus Falls) and a comparable loss to Detroit Lakes (like Fergus Falls). When a team has Hallie Winjum and Abby Borowicz, you have to like your chances to be in every game you play.
Honorable mention – Thief River Falls (we will see on Monday when they play Crookston for a second time if they will move into the top three). Hawley. Never count out the Hall of Famer Bill Guttenberg’s teams. They are well-coached and having another solid year.
SECTION 8A Girls Basketball –
This is a tough one this week, but here we go.
1. Badger-Greenbush-Middle River (8-2). The two losses are to Thompson North Dakota and Thief River Falls. They are still my top team thus far. They are athletic, physical, and well-coached.
2. Fosston (8-0). They are undefeated and have played tremendous defense. While they have only played a couple of teams that I would consider solid. So it is still too early to get excited about Fosston.
3. Kelliher/Northome (9-0). They are undefeated and have beaten Fertile-Beltrami who is 10-2. So they are the real deal. They have a weaker schedule so that could hurt them when it comes to playoffs.
Honorable Mention – Fertile-Beltrami (I could easily put them in the top 3 this week), Goodridge/Grgyla (8-0). They could easily be in the top three also, but I am waiting to see what happens on Thursday when they play BGMR. If they win that game, they could move up to number 1! Kittson County Central and Red Lake Falls have played solid basketball the past couple of weeks, and they are trending up.
SECTION 8A Girls Hockey –
1. Warroad (Duh!) Even if they lost and tied last weekend, they are the top team, hands down the rest of the season.
2. Crookston. They had to tough out a 4-1 win with 2 third-period goals against Thief River Falls, so they aren’t as far ahead as they think they are. Playoffs are only three weeks away or so, and that will be a semi-final matchup so the Pirates better be ready. The big bright spot has been Brekken Tull scoring goals against the better teams they play and two big goals against TRF. I have always judged a player by how you do against the better teams. What do you do against Warroad, Lakeville North, Hermantown, TRF, Blaine, etc. That is where good/above-average players stand out, in the big games against tough competition. That is when they do their thing.
3. Thief River Falls. They gave Crookston a scare and trailed 2-1 going into the third period. They play hard, are physical, and seem to be getting better as the season has progressed.
SECTION 8A Boys Hockey –
1. Warroad (Duh). You don’t have to be a genius. They are the best team hands down, right now.
2. East Grand Forks. Surprise! Okay, not really. They beat DL in overtime earlier this year and play a much tougher schedule.
3. Thief River Falls – Surprise! Okay, not really. It has been Warroad, EGF, and TRF for the past 20 years, and this year is no different. The Prowlers are arguably the best-coached team in the Section, and that is saying a lot with the great coaches they have in the section. But there isn’t a team that gets more out of less lately (compared to Warroad and EGF) than Thief River Falls.
Honorable Mention – Detroit Lakes. They are having a great season and it is amazing what a turnaround they have had with a new coach and new culture the past couple of years. Good for DL!
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The Crookston Multi-Use facility Vote Yes committee has been active trying to get signs made, and the school district is busy scheduling meetings with as many people as possible.
January 19th will be the second Community Meeting at 6:30 pm in the Crookston High School Auditorium. The meeting will also be livestreamed.
On January 20th, there will be a meeting/coffee for anyone interested at RBJ’s at 10:00am.
On January 30th, there will be a meeting/coffee for anyone interested at the Shanty at 10:00am
They also finalizing dates for meetings in Gentilly, Euclid, and Eldred in the coming weeks as well as reaching out to the service clubs and any other groups that would like to meet. If you’d like for someone to come talk to your group please let Tim Moe know the time and place and we’ll get someone there.
The vote will be on February 14.
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Shortstop Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins are finalizing a six-year, $200 million contract. The deal has a vesting option that can max out at $270 million. But, the big news is – It is pending physical.
So the Twins got their guy for a 100 million dollar discount compared to what the Mets were going to play. The contract is around 33 million dollars per year with no out-clauses.
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Crosby-Ironton High School alum and current NDSU Bison Noah Gindorff has announced he will be declaring for the NFL draft. He is a tight end, and NDSU has had several tight ends in the NFL lately. Good luck to him.
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Congratulations to the Grand Forks Herald’s Tom Miller on his North Dakota sportswriter of the year award.
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The 2023 East Grand Forks Sports Boosters Youth Basketball tournament will be held March 10-12. The registration link is up and ready. Go to greenwaveboosters.com and click on the Youth Basketball Tourney tab to get your team registered.
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The Crookston Pirate Winter Sports schedule has been updated again. To see the latest schedules, click below.
JOKES
Two natural gas company service personnel, a senior training supervisor and a young trainee, were out checking meters in a suburban neighborhood. They parked their truck at the end of an alley and worked their way to the other end.
At the last house, a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. When they finished, the senior supervisor, proud of his physical condition, challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race back to their truck.
As they approached the truck, they realized that the woman from the last house they checked was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong.
Gasping for breath, she replied, “When I saw two gas men running as hard as you two were, I figured I’d better run, too!”
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A guy walks into a post office one day to see a middle-aged, balding man standing at the counter, methodically placing “Love” stamps on bright pink envelopes with hearts all over them. He then takes out a perfume bottle and starts spraying scent all over them.
His curiosity getting the better of him, and he goes up to the balding man and asks him what he is doing. The man says, “I’m sending out 1,000 Valentine cards signed, ‘Guess who?'”
“But why?” asks the man.
“I’m a divorce lawyer,” the man replies.
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How are former Crookston Pirates athletes doing in college or elsewhere?
****LET ME KNOW OF OTHERS TO ADD TO THE LIST. Email me at chrisjfee@yahoo.com
Emma Osborn is a freshman playing basketball at Northland Technical and Community College in Thief River Falls.
Jacey Larson is a freshman playing hockey at Dakota College at Bottineau.
Olivia Huck is a freshman playing soccer at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Brooks Butt is a freshman playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Aleah Bienek is a freshman playing hockey at Trine University in Indiana.
Elise Tangquist is the Assistant Girl’s Volleyball and Assistant Girl’s Golf Coach this year at Heritage Christian Academy in Maple Grove.
Kaleb Thingelstad is a sophomore playing golf at North Central University in the Twin Cities.
Joslynn Leach is a sophomore playing golf at Concordia College in Moorhead. The Cobbers wrapped up the Fall season.
Brady Butt is a Junior playing football at the University of Jamestown.
Ty Hamre is playing football at Bemidji State University.
Paul Bittner is playing professional hockey in Norway.
Kate MacGregor is senior swimming at Minnesota State Moorhead.
Aleece Durbin is a Junior on the University of North Dakota Women’s Track and Field team.
Nick Garmen is a junior playing tennis at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Elizabeth Erdman is a coach for the Moorhead Red Dragon swim team.
Crookston School District Coaches –
Ben Parkin is the head Pirate Baseball Coach.
Emily Meyer is the Pirate head girls’ hockey coach and softball assistant coach.
Lacia Hanson is the Junior High softball coach.
Jeremy Lubinski is a Pirate 8th Grade Football coach.
Amy Boll is the head Pirate Girls Track head coach
Sarah Reese is the Pirate Head Girls’ Soccer coach
Cody Brekken is the Crookston Community Pool Supervisor
Marley Melbye is the Head Girls’ Swimming coach
Brock Hanson is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Ben Halos is a Pirate Baseball assistant coach.
Alex LaFrance is a Pirate Baseball volunteer assistant coach.
Jeff Perreault is the Pirate Girls Golf head coach
Wes Hanson is the Pirate Wrestling Head Coach and assistant boys golf coach
Kevin Weber is a Pirate Boys Basketball volunteer assistant coach
Connor Morgan is the Pirate Boys Hockey assistant coach
Sam Melbye is the Pirate Boys J.V. Hockey coach
Chris Dufault is a youth wrestling Coach
Colton Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach
Non-Crookston High School coaching/Admin/etc –
Austin Sommerfeld is an Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communication at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Collin Reynolds is the head baseball coach for the University of Colorado Buffalo Club Baseball team.
Trent Stahlecker is a School Security Specialist & he works for the Brevard Public Schools, Florida.
Cody Weiland is an assistant wrestling coach at Proctor/Hermantown.
Josh Edlund is the head football coach and phy ed teacher at Flandreau, South Dakota.
Allison Lindsey Axness is Assistant Varsity Volleyball Coach at Champlin Park
Jeff Olson is the Head Wrestling Coach and Head Baseball coach at Delano.
Jake Olson is an Assistant Football Coach and Head Boys’ Tennis coach at Delano.
Katy Westrom is the Head Girl’s Tennis Coach and Head Boys’ Tennis coach at Monticello High School.
Matt Harris is an Assistant Principal/Athletic Director at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Marty Bratrud is the Superintendent and High School Principal at Westhope High School.
Gordie Haug is an assistant football coach at the University of Wyoming.
Mike Hastings is the Minnesota State Mankato Men’s head Hockey coach.
Mike Biermaier is the Athletic Director at Grand Forks Schools.
Stephanie (Lindsay) Perreault works with the North Dakota State stats crew for Bison football, volleyball, and basketball in the winter. Stephanie’s husband, Ryan, is the assistant director for Bison media relations.
Jason Bushie is the hockey athletic trainer at Colorado College.
Chris Myrold is the Director and Fitness at Mission Ranch and Fitness in Camel, California.
Kyle Buchmeier is a Tennis Pro at the Reed-Sweatt Family Tennis Center in Minneapolis
Ben Andringa is serving our country with the Army and is deployed to Iraq for nine months.
Jarrett Butenhoff is serving our country with the U.S. Navy.
Joshua Butenhoff is serving our country on a Submarine with the Pacific Fleet with the US Navy.
Peter Cournia is a 2002 Crookston High School Graduate and a grad of West Point and currently serving in the U.S. Army.
Erik Ellingson is serving our country with the U.S. Air Force at Minot.
Philip Kujawa, class of 2004, from Crookston High School. He is an Army recruiter in Rochester.
Rob Sobolik is the General Manager of the Fargodome
That’s it for this week. Thanks for the comments, and if you have anything to add or share, please e-mail chrisjfee@yahoo.com or call. Thanks for reading and listening to KROX RADIO and kroxam.com.
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